Biden administration to kick-start $300 monthly child-tax-credit checks to parents on July 15

• The Biden administration said it would start issuing advance child-tax-credit payments on July 15.
• A check would be issued on the 15th of every month unless the day is a holiday or weekend.
• An estimated 39 million households would receive the cash without needing to sign up for it.

The Biden administration announced Monday that it would kick-start advance payments of the child tax credit on July 15. Democrats have touted the provision as a key part of President Joe Biden's stimulus law that's poised to benefit the vast majority of American children.

The Treasury Department and the IRS said they would start issuing the payments on July 15 and continue each month on the 15th unless the date falls on a holiday or weekend. It's the first time the federal government has committed to issuing the checks monthly.

"The American Rescue Plan is delivering critical tax relief to middle class and hard-pressed working families with children," Biden said in a statement. "With today's announcement, about 90% of families with children will get this new tax relief automatically, starting in July."

The $1.9 trillion stimulus law revamped the $2,000 child tax credit, widening its reach and beefing up the amount to $3,600 per child 5 and under and to $3,000 per child between 6 and 17. It also provided households the option to receive a monthly payment of $250 or $300 instead of a one-time sum at tax time.

The amount begins shrinking for individuals earning adjusted gross incomes above $75,000 and for couples making $150,000 or more.

Families with children can tap into the cash even if they have little or no income-tax obligations, a change from the structure tying the credit to earnings. The Treasury and the IRS said 39 million households would receive the payments through direct deposit, paper checks, or a debit card with no additional action necessary.

The president has urged Congress to swiftly approve a $1.8 trillion economic package called the American Families Plan, the second major plan he's unveiled to overhaul the economy. The proposal would extend the monthly payments for another four years, until 2025. They would continue at lower amounts if lawmakers didn't renew them at the bulked-up levels.

Experts have projected that the expanded tax credit could cut child poverty in half, particularly for Black and Latino kids. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center said in March that over 90% of families with kids would receive an average cash benefit of $4,380.

"I think it's about time we start giving tax breaks and tax credits to working-class families and middle-class families instead of just the very wealthy," Biden said earlier this month.

The IRS had said it was on track to begin the child-tax-credit payments in July.